10 must-see Roman Forts in Britain – HeritageDaily – Heritage & Archaeology News Send email Mail The following is our view of the top ten roman forts in Provincia Britannia. Provincia Britannia, today known as Roman Britain, was a province of the Roman Empire from 43AD to 409AD, spanning at its height in 160, the southern three-quarters of the island of Great Britain. Roman officials departed from Britain around the year 410AD, which began the sub-Roman period (5th–6th centuries), but the legacy of the Roman Empire was felt for centuries in Britain. 1 : Vindolanda Vindolanda was a Roman auxiliary fort (castrum) just south of Hadrian’s Wall in northern England. Located near the modern village of Bardon Mill, it guarded the Stanegate, the Roman road from the River Tyne to the Solway Firth. It is noted for the Vindolanda tablets, among the most important finds of military and private correspondence (written on wooden tablets) found anywhere in the Roman Empire. A vicus, a self-governing village, developed to the west of the fort.

The vicus contains several rows of buildings, each containing several one-room chambers. Most are not connected to the existing drainage system. The one that does was perhaps a butchery where, for health reasons, an efficient drain would have been important. A stone altar found in 1914 (and exhibited in the museum) proves that the settlement was officially a vicus, and that it was named Vindolanda. 2 : Hardknott Roman Fort Hardknott Roman Fort is an archaeological site, the remains of the Roman fort Mediobodgdum, located on the western side of the Hardknott Pass in the English county of Cumbria. The fort was built on a rocky spur giving a superb view over the River Esk in both upper and lower Eskdale, and protecting Hardknott Pass. At an altitude of 800 feet, it isn’t the highest fort in the Roman province of Britannia, the highest fort is Epiacum, also in Cumbria. The ruins have been commonly known in recent times as Hardknott Fort or Hardknott Castle, but are identified from the Ravenna Cosmography as the Mediobogdo fort or more correctly Mediobogdum.

Built between about 120 and 138, the fort was abandoned during the Antonine advance into Scotland during the mid-2nd century. The fort was reoccupied around 200 and continued in use until the last years of the 4th century. During this time, an extensive vicus developed outside the fort. The Roman garrison here was a detachment of 500 cavalry of the 6th Cohort of Dalmatians from the Dalmatian coast. 3 : Housesteads Roman Fort Vercovicium, now known as Housesteads Roman Fort , was an auxiliary fort on Hadrian’s Wall, in the Roman province of Britannia. Its ruins are located at Housesteads in Northumberland, England. In the 2nd century AD, the garrison consisted of an unknown double-sized auxiliary infantry cohort and a detachment of legionaries from Legio II Augusta. In the 3rd century, it comprised cohors I Tungrorum, augmented by the numerus Hnaudifridiand the cuneus Frisiorum. The Tungrians were still there in the 4th century, according to the Notitia Dignitatum.

By 409 AD the Romans had withdrawn. The fort was built in stone around AD 124, soon after the construction of the Wall began in AD 122. Vercovicium was built overlying the original Broad Wall foundation and Turret 36B. The fort was repaired and rebuilt several times, its northern defences being particularly prone to collapse. A substantial civil settlement (vicus) existed to the south, outside the fort, and some of the stone foundations can still be seen, including “Murder House”, where two skeletons were found beneath an apparently newly laid floor when excavated. 4 : Porchester Castle (Roman Fort) The strategic importance of Portchester has been recognised since at least the 3rd century when a Roman fort was established on the site of the later castle. Though it is uncertain exactly when the fort was constructed, it is thought that it was built by Marcus Aurelius Carausius on the instructions of emperor Diocletian between 285 and 290. It was one of several forts built along the British coast in the period to combat raids by pirates. Portchester was probably a base from which the Classis Britannica, the Roman fleet defending Britain, operated.

It is the best preserved Roman fort north of the Alps. Although the Roman army retreated from Britain in the early 5th century, it is unlikely that the fort was ever completely abandoned, although its use continued on a much smaller scale. The The D-shaped towers are typical of 3rd-century Roman forts. The Roman defences were integrated into the medieval castle of the later castle. 5 : Segedunum Segedunum was a Roman fort at modern-day Wallsend , Tyne and Wear, England, UK. The fort lay at the eastern end of Hadrian’s Wall (in Wallsend) near the banks of the River Tyne, forming the easternmost portion of the wall. It was in use as a garrison for approximately 300 years, almost up to 400AD. The Roman wall originally terminated at Pons Aelius (Newcastle upon Tyne). Work began at Pons Aelius in 122AD and proceeded towards the west. Subsequently, in about 127AD, the wall was extended further east, possibly to protect the river crossing at Pons Aelius.

A four-mile section of the wall east from the fort of Pons Aelius, passing through present-day Bykerand ending at the new fort of Segedunum was built. The new section of wall was narrower than the sections previously built, being 7 feet 6 inches (2.29 m) on a foundation of 8 feet (2.4 m). Sometime round about 400AD the fort was abandoned. 6 : Gariannonum – Burgh Castle Burgh Castle is the site of one of several Roman shore forts constructed around the 3rd century AD, to hold cavalry as a defence against Saxon raids up the rivers of the east and south coasts of southern Britain; and is located on the summit of ground sloping steeply towards the estuary of the River Waveney, in the civil parish of Burgh Castle, in Norfolk. This fort was possibly known as Gariannonum, although the single record that describes it as such may also mean the Roman site at Caister-on-Sea. The fort is roughly rectangular measuring (internally) approximately 205 m (673 ft) by 100 m (330 ft).

The walls on the north, east, and much of the south side are largely intact, standing at a height of approximately 4.6 m (15 ft) and measuring up to 3 m (9.8 ft) thick at the base. They have a core of mortared flint rubble and an external and internal facing of prepared flint and red tile or brick in alternating bands. Coin and pottery evidence on the site indicates that the occupation of the fort dates from the mid-3rd century AD, with Roman occupation continuing up to the early 5th century AD when the integration of Roman and Saxon traditions appear. 7 : Cilurnum Cilurnum or Cilurvum was a fort on Hadrian’s Wall mentioned in the Notitia Dignitatum. It is now identified with the fort found at Chesters (also known as Walwick Chesters to distinguish it from other sites named Chesters in the vicinity) near the village of Walwick, Northumberland, England. It was built in 123 AD, just after the wall’s completion. Cilurnum is considered to be the best preserved Roman cavalry fort along Hadrian’s Wall.

There is a museum on the site, housing finds from the fort and elsewhere along the wall. The site guarded a bridge carrying the military road behind the wall across the River North Tyne at this point, whose abutments survive. It was a cavalry fort at its foundation, for retaliatory raids into barbarian areas north of the wall, then given over to infantry later. Hadrian himself encouraged the “Cult of Disciplina” amongst legions stationed at the wall, and an early inscription on an altar dedicated to Disciplina, found in 1978, indicates the earliest known military presence was a wing of cavalry, ala Augusta ob virtutem appellata (“named Augusta because of its valour”). Inscriptions have also been found showing the First Cohort of Dalmatians and the First Cohort of Vangiones from Upper Rhineland in Germany were also stationed here. 8 : Londinium Roman Fort The roman fort of Londinium (City of London, England) was built around AD120 just north-west of the main settlement. It covered around 12 acres and was almost square in size and 200m along each length.

As Londinium grew, the fort was later absorbed into the defensive wall that surrounded the city. The fort could house up to 1000 men and provided suitable barracks for all troops stationed in Londinium. However, a century later the site was decommissioned and buildings dismantled as the military situation in the southern edge of Britannia had become more secure. Whilst the walls have been added to over various phases in London’s history, the forts northern and western ages still remain visible along with bastion towers and one of the gatehouses. 9 : Segontium Segontium is a Roman fort for a Roman auxiliary force, located on the outskirts of Caernarfon in Gwynedd, north Wales. It probably takes its name from the nearby River Seiont, and may be related to the Segontiaci, a British tribe mentioned by Julius Caesar. The fort was founded by Agricola in 77 or 78 AD after he had conquered the Ordovices. It was the main Roman fort in the north of Roman Wales and was designed to hold about a thousand auxiliary infantry. It was connected by a Roman road to the Roman legionary base at Chester, Deva Victrix.

Unlike the more recent Caernarfon Castle alongside the Seiont estuary, Segontium is located on higher ground giving a good view of the Menai Straits. The original timber defences were rebuilt in stone in the first half of the 2nd century AD. An inscription on an aqueduct from the time of the Emperor Septimius Severus indicates that at that time it was garrisoned by Cohors I Sunicorum, which would have originally been levied among the Sunici of Gallia Belgica. 10 : Isca Augusta Isca Augusta (or Isca Silurum) was a Roman legionary fortress and settlement, the remains of which lie beneath parts of the present-day village of Caerleon on the northern outskirts of the city of Newport in South Wales. The Brythonic name Isca means “water” and refers to the River Usk. The suffix Augusta appears in the Ravenna Cosmography and was an honorific title taken from the legion stationed there. The place is commonly referred to as Isca Silurum to differentiate it from Isca Dumnoniorum and because it lay in the territory of the Silures tribe.

However, there is no evidence that this form was used in Roman times. The later name, Caerleon, is derived from the Welsh for “fortress of the legion”. Isca became the headquarters of the 2nd Legion Augusta in about AD 75, when Governor Sextus Julius Frontinus began the conquest of Roman Wales. They built a large “playing-card” shaped fort with initially a timber palisade which was later replaced in stone. The interior was fitted out with the usual array of military buildings: a headquarters building, legate’s residence, tribunes’ houses, hospital, large bath house, workshops, barrack blocks, granaries and an amphitheatre. By the 120s, detachments or vexillations of the legion were needed elsewhere in the province and Isca became more of a military base than a garrison. However, it is thought that each cohort still maintained a presence at the fortress. History of Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne Roman Origins : HADRIAN'S BRIDGE There were two Roman forts within the boundaries of the present city of Newcastle upon Tyne.

One of these was Benwell in the western suburbs of the city where there was a fort on Hadrian's Wall called Condercum. The later name 'Benwell' is of Anglo-Saxon origin deriving from Beonnam-Wall meaning a 'place within the wall'. Today most of what remains of the fort at Benwell is largely buried beneath modern housing but the defensive Roman ditch called the `Vallum' can still be seen along with the nearby ruins of a Roman temple dedicated to a local god called Antenociticus. The Swing Bridge on the site of the Roman and Medieval Bridge : David Simpson From Benwell the Roman wall continued east, towards the riverside fort at Newcastle called Pons Aelius. Between Benwell and Newcastle's city centre Hadrian's Wall more or less followed the course of what is now the Westgate Road. The road was built along the site of a Roman defensive ditch just north of Hadrian's Wall. In Roman times the fort of Pons Aelius at Newcastle was probably no more important than that at Benwell but it did have a significant role in guarding a Roman bridge across the Tyne.

Pons was the Latin word for bridge, so Pons Aelius was the name of both the fort and the bridge at Newcastle. In fact Pons Aelius can be translated to mean `the Bridge of Hadrian' as Aelius was the family name of the Emperor who gave his name to the Roman Wall. The Medieval bridge at Newcastle on the site of the earlier Roman bridge. The bridge at Newcastle was built of timber being a wooden-decked platform on stone piers. It predated the fort and may have continued in use for many centuries. Records suggest that the bridge still stood in Norman times and if this is so then it was not finally destroyed until 1248 during a raging fire. It is very likely that the medieval bridge that replaced the burned structure still utilised the Roman foundations. Pons Aelius existed by 213AD and overlooked the Tyne on a site now occupied by the castle. Archaeology suggests a market was held in the fort between 270AD and 360AD. Outside the fort, to the west a Roman civilian village existed in the Hanover Street area.

Initially the Roman bridge and fort at Newcastle formed the eastern terminus of Hadrian's Wall but later the wall was extended three miles east where a fort called Segedunum was built at what we now call Wallsend. The fort of Segedunum was strategically located at the point where a short northward flowing section of the River Tyne suddenly turns east towards the sea. East of Wallsend, the broad, tidal Tyne formed a natural continuation of the Roman defences with one of the defensive walls of the Wallsend fort actually extending into the River Tyne itself. Over on the south side of the river at the mouth of the Tyne the defences were further supplemented by the fort and Roman supply port of Arbeia at South Shields. Outline of Newcastle Roman fort at the foot of the castle : David Simpson MONKCHESTER : ANGLO-SAXON NEWCASTLE Following the collapse of Roman Britain, around 450AD, Newcastle’s history was plunged into darkness. In the Anglo-Saxon era Bede made a reference to a place called Ad Murum that could be Newcastle, while a later Norman writer, Symeon of Durham, mentioned a Saxon settlement at Newcastle called Monkchester.

Notably, six-hundred, eighth century Anglo-Saxon Christian burials have been found in the fort but this is not a lot for a period extending over 600 years from 450AD to 1066. Anglo-Saxon Northumbria was a centre of culture and learning with Jarrow, Wearmouth and Lindisfarne being places of renown. Strangely, despite its importance today, Newcastle's history in this period is rather obscure. Bede who lived on the banks of the Tyne at Jarrow had mentioned the place called Ad Murum near Hadrian’s Wall, where a King of Wessex and a son of Penda, King of Mercia, were converted to Christianity. Benwell, Monkchester, Walbottle and Newburn have all been suggested as sites for Ad Murum, based on Bede’s description of its distance from Jarrow . One other possibility is that it was Pandon. Also historically called Pampeden, the Saxon settlement of Pandon lay within Hadrian’s Wall to the east of the Pandon Burn, and was possibly larger than Monkchester.

The burn has gone, filled in during the nineteenth century, but remembered in a street called Pandon above the Quayside between the Tyne Bridge and Millennium Bridge. Manor Chare follows its tributary, the Erick Burn and a restaurant at Stockbridge House marks a bridge across this burn. Pandon Dene, Newcastle Pandon became a medieval industrial town. In 1294 a ship (galley) was built for Edward I at the mouth of the Pandon Burn, where the law courts now stand on Newcastle Quayside. Edward I allowed Newcastle to purchase Pandon in 1299, ending its independence. In 1307 it was enclosed within the easterly sections of the town wall. It was not the first time the place had found itself enclosed within the protective defences of a wall. Hadrian's Wall - NewCastle Roman Fort 3D Reconstruction - YouTube Hadrian's Wall - NewCastle Roman Fort 3D Reconstruction Want to watch this again later? Sign in to add this video to a playlist. Need to report the video? Sign in to report inappropriate content. Rating is available when the video has been rented. This feature is not available right now. Please try again later.

Uploaded on Mar 28, 2009 View in High Quality! This is a 3D reconstruction of the Roman Fort built along Hadrians Wall located at NewCastle UK also known as the Pons Aelius . This reconstruction also includes the first crossing point of the River Tyne, at Newcastle. The bridge was built by the romans and named the Pons Aelius after the emperor Hadrian, `the Bridge of Hadrian'. Over time the fort itself also became to be know as Pons Aelius. Situated on a hill the fort was originally built of earth and wood but later rebuilt out of stone. The Pons Aelius was a small fort by roman standards and housed about 480 auxilary troops. It included the Praetorium and Principia (Headquarters and Commander's residence), barracks, granaries, latrine and workshops. The Roman bridge and fort at Newcastle formed the eastern end of Hadrian's Wall but later the wall was extended three miles further to the east where a fort called Segedunum was built at what is now know as Wallsend. Hadrian's Wall ran to the north of the fort and was not known to be connected to the fort.

In the early fifth century the Cohors I Cornoviorum was stationed at Pons Aelius. Soldiers in this unit came from the Cornovii tribe who lived in the area around modern Cheshire. There are very little remains of the fort today. What you see now is an artists reconstruction I created. The buildings and animation I created using various software programs. Cinema 4 and Vue. This is my first true animation so if you like it let me know and I will do more! You can find more information at my website Category archaeology.ws/Roman Place-Names Roman Place-Names Are they Celtic or Germanic? Ever since the assumption was made that a 'Celtic' language was spoken in prehistoric Britain, Roman place-names have been used to reconstruct the vocabulary of this Brittonic language. Sometimes it was possible to find words in Welsh, Breton or Irish that resembled elements of the Roman place-names. Hypothetical words could then be proposed for the language of native Britain. But Win Scutt challenges this as a circular argument.

He argues that Britain's Roman place-names can just as easily be matched with elements found in Germanic languages, especially in Old English, the language recorded in eastern Britain in the early medieval period. Germanic Roots of roman place-names Below is a list of many of the names found in Roman Britain, with explanations of possible Germanic cognates. There is much research still to carry out on this, but the comments below are designed to demonstrate that Germanic origins can be found for many place-names in Roman Britain. ABALLAVA Roman Fort at Burgh by Sands, Cumberland (NT 3259) This name may originate from a name similar to a number in Old English, including Abba, Eadburg, Eadbeorht, or Eadbeald. The second element may be OE hlaw ‘hill’. ABONA (river, Gloucestershire and adjacent settlement) This is widely accepted as a Latinisation of the name for the River Avon which lies to the south of the Roman settlement of the same name at Sea Mills, Bristol. It shows that the Romans would use the letter B as the nearest Latin equivalent for a V. It is generally claimed that Avon is a Celtic word on this evidence.

However it is virtually unknown in Cornish place-names (Padel 1985, 14), though it occurs in Welsh, afon ‘river’ and Middle Breton (auo(u)n). In OE the name would be cognate with hæfen ‘haven, port’. While it is argued that the river name is from an assumed British name for river, cognate with Welsh afon, Cornish avon, and Irish abhann, there is an equally plausible OE origin for the English rivers with this name. AESICA (Roman fort at Great Chesters, Northumberland) Perhaps from OE æsc “ash-tree”. “ae” would be a Roman attempt to replicate “æ”, while “s” is as near as they could get to “sh”. AGELOCO Littleborough (not in Rivet and Smith?) OE āclēah “oak wood” ALAUNA (1. unknown location in SW Britain; 2. probably Alcester in Warwickshire; 3. probably the Roman fort at Watercrook, Westmorland; 4. the Roman fort at Maryport, Cumbria; 5.

the River Aln, Northumberland, also known as ALAUNUS; 6. probably the Roman fort at Low Learchild, Northumberland) Rivet and Smith illustrate a mainly western distribution of this name, attributed to a variety of meanings, including “a rocky place or river”. Probably from OE alor ‘alder’ The name is also found at Ardoch, Perthshire on the Allan Water and in ALAUNOCELUM located somewhere in SE Scotland). ALBINIANO Ælfa, Ælfhere, Ælfwine or Ælfwynn are just some of the OE personal names which would be rendered Alb- in Latin. A close modern cognate place-name would be Alvingham Li or Alvingston Gl ALOBERGIUM (Possibly in Devon or Somerset) ANDERITUM Pevensey, E Sussex ?OE æned-mere “duck-mere” as with Anmer (Ekwall, 1960, 10) In later times, the OE name was Andred.

It may have simply started as a personal name similar to Ēanrēd (cf Anderton in Ekwall, 1960, 10) ARBEIA South Shields, Tyne & Wear Possibly relates to the Old English name Hereburg as in Arborfield Brk (Ekwall, 1960, 11) ARDOTALIA Melandra Castle, Derby The second part probably is cognate with Darley from OE dēor + leah “wood frequented by deer” (Ekwall, 1960, 139). Darley lies on the north side of Derby, which also derives from OE dēor. The first element could be Earda, short for Eardwulf. Therefore Earda-dēor-leah. ARICONIUM Weston-under-Penyard, H'ford & Worcs BANNA Birdoswald, Cumbria Possibly based on a personal name which is found in OE, ‘Bana’. BANNAVENTA Whilton Lodge, Northants [ Iter II...Bannaventa ] The personal name Bana, with the second element “Venta”.

Rivet and Smith can find no good origins in Latin or Celtic for this element. The word “went” meaning “passage” is found in ME, and is found also in Derwent, which should mean “the way of the deer”. BIBRA Beckfoot, Cumbria This is written as BRIBRA in Ravenna. The first element may be a Latin attempt to replicate the sound “Bray”, OE “breg” brow, or from Welsh bre “hill” (Ekwall, 1960, 61). The second may be the OE element “burh” or brough, broc, brook (Ekwall, 1960, 69) or OE beorg, hill, barrow. Without earlier forms, it is not possible to state from which elements this name originates, but breg-beorg, “barrow on the brow” would be written today as “Braybrough” would sound most like “Bribra”. BIBROCI (Source: Caesar BG, V, 21, 1) A British tribe mentioned only by Caesar. These may well be a community that lived in the vicinity of Bybrook, Kent.

Bybrook means the place “by the brook” in Old English. BOVIO Holt, Cheshire [Iter II..Bovio ] BOVIVUM Tilston, Cheshire BRANODUNUM Brancaster, Norfolk OE brant ‘steep’ or a personal name + OE dun ‘hill, down, mountain’ BRAVONIACUM Kirkby Thore, Cumbria [ Iter II...Brovonacis ] BRAVONIUM Leintwardine, H'ford & Worcs [ Iter XII...Bravonio ] BREMENIUM High Rochester, Northumb [ Iter I...Bremenio, RC..Bremenium, Pt..Bremenion ] Probably from OE brēmer ‘bramble, bramble thicket’ as with the modern place-names Bramber, Bramerton etc. (Ekwall 63) BREMETENACUM Ribchester, Lancs [Iter X.Bremetonaci ] BRIGE ?? [ Iter XII..Brige ] From OE brycg “bridge” . Rivet and Smith see it as derived from a hypothetical British word for “hill” which preceded dunum in usage.

(Rivet and Smith, 1979, 278) BROCAVUM Brougham, Cumbria A clear instance of a Latin rendition of the OE name Brōc-ham (the ham by the brook); or perhaps burh-ham, the ham by a burg; or perhaps beorg-ham, the ham by a hill or barrow. In view of the Latin version Brocavum, the first seems the most likely. BROCOLITIA Carrawburgh, Northumb Perhaps OE broc, “brook” + OE lycc “enclosure” (Ekwall, 1960, 296). The t of Brocolitia may have been pronounced “ts” as in modern Italian, and therefore imitates the sound of “ch”. Alternatively, the first element may be “burh” which continues in the modern name “Carrawburgh”.

CAESAROMAGVS Chelmsford, Essex [ Iter V...Caesaromago ] While the first element refers to a Caesar, presumably Claudius, magus may be an adaptation of OE maga ’powerful, strong, able, competent, having means’ which might refer to the town, or it may refer to Caesar as a powerful warrior youth.

CALACUM Burrow in Lonsdale, Lancs [ Iter X...Calcum ] CALCARIA Tadcaster, N Yorks [ Iter II...Calcaria ] CALLEVA ATREBATUM Silchester, Hants [ Iter VII...Calleva Atrebatum ] CAMBUDNO Cleckheaton?, W Yorks [ Iter II..Camboduno] CAMBORITUM Lackford, Suffolk [ Iter V...Camborico ] CAMBOGLANNA Castlefields, Cumbria CAMULODUNUM Colchester, Essex [ Iter V...Colonia, Iter IX...Camuloduno] CAMULODUNUM Slack, W Yorks CANONIUM Kelvedon, Essex [ Iter IX...Canonio ] CASTRA EXPLOPATORUM Netherby, Cumbria CASTRA EXPLORATORUM Netherby, Cumbria [ Iter II...Castra Exploratum ] CATARACTONIUM Catterick, N Yorks [ Iter I, II...Cataractoni, Iter V...Caractone ] CAUSENNIS Saltersford, Lincs [ Iter V...Causensis ] OE cu ‘cow’, OE sende ‘s

andy place’ (see below: Clausentum) and a Latin suffix suggesting the existence perhaps an island in the Witham.

CECUCMUM Y Gaer, Powys CILURNUM Chesters, Northumb CLAUSENTIUM Bitterne, Hants [Iter VII...Clausentum ] This name may derive from the OE clawu “a claw or cloven hoof” which can refer to “the fork of a river” (as in Clawton, D., Ekwall, 1960, 110); and a derivative of OE sand “sand” e.g. an OE *sende fem. “sand-dune, sandy place” (cf Send, Sr, Ekwall 1960, 412). Therefore the Roman name may be an adaptation of *Clawsend meaning “the sandy place on the fork of the river”. This perfectly describes the location of this town in Roman times. COCCIUM ?? Wigan, Lancs [ Iter X...Coccio] COMBRETOVIUM Baylham House, Suffolk [ Iter IX...Combretonio ] CONCANGIS Chester-le-Street, Durham CONOVIUM ??

Caerhun, Gwynnedd [Iter XI...Conovio ] CONDATE Northwich, Cheshire [ Iter II...Condate ] CONDERCUM Benwell, Tyne & Wear CORIOSOPITUM Corbridge, Northumb [ Iter I..Corstopitum] CŌVENNUS This very probably refers to Coveney (Cambridgeshire) deriving from cofa + eg, meaning in Old English “cove island” which is exactly how it was sited in prehistory. It is probably the same island referred to by Ptolemy in Roman times. He described an island on the edge of the territory of the tribe of the Trinovantes that was called “Covenna”. It is an important piece of evidence that English was being spoken long before the Anglo Saxons arrived. CROCOCALANA Brough, Notts [ Iter VI...Crocalana ] CROUCINCUM “A Germanic origin was debated at one time” (Rivet and Smith 328). Could this be Craster, Northumberland?

“Old fort inhabited by crows” (Ekwall, 1960, 128) It would be in the correct sequence within the Ravenna Cosmography, except that Brocara near Irvine is placed before it on a northbound itinerary (but Brocara’s equivalence to Vindogara is an assumption: Rivet and Smith 1979, 209; 501) CUNETIO Mildenhall, Wilts This Roman town lies on the River Kennet in Wiltshire. The town name may well have developed from the river name, rather than vice versa. The first element may derive from cyne-, cene- “kingly, royal” (Smith 1956, 123); the second, et, a common OE noun suffix; the third, io, a Latin addition. DANUM Doncaster, S Yorks [ Iter V...Dano ] Perhaps an adaptation of OE diern-ham ‘hidden ham’ or of OE dun ‘hill’, or derived from the River Dearne which Ekwall states probably derives from the same OE root and means ‘hidden stream’.

DELGOVICIA Millington E Yorks [ Iter I...Delgovicia ] The first element may be a Latinisation of OE dæl ‘valley’; the second a representation of a personal name such as that found in Gawthorpe YW. DERVENTIO Malton, N Yorks [ Iter I...Derventione ] DERVENTIO Littlechester, Derby DERVENTIO Papcastle, Cumbria Another good example of an English Place Name with a Latin interpretation. The traditional view would have us believe that the name must derive from Brittonic. An OE derivation can be easily found in dēor ‘animal’ (Ekwall, 1960, 142) or ‘deer’ on a river called Wende (wende meaning “winding”); or dēor + went, which occurs in ME as “way, passage” (Ekwall, 1960, 506) DEVA Chester, Cheshire [ Iter II...Deva ] An Latinisation of the Welsh river name Dee or Dewi.

DUNUM Hod Hill, Dorset From OE dun ‘hill, down, mountain’ DURNOVARIA Dorchester, Dorset Probably from “durn”, the name of a river or district, which may originate from OE dierne or derne, meaning “hidden”; and OE were or wær meaning a “dam” or “weir”. The “Durn” gave its name to the “chester” and to the county “Dorset”. One documentary reference indeed spells it “Dornwaraceaster” (864 BCS 510, cited in Ekwall 1960, 148) DUROBRIVAE Water Newton, Cambs [ Iter V...Durobrivas] DUROBRIVAE Rochester, Kent [ Iter II...Durobrivis ] DUROCOBRIVIS Dunstable, Beds [ Iter II...Durocobrivis ] DUROLEVUM ?? Sittingbourne, Kent [ Iter II...Durolevo ] DUROLIPONTE Cambridge, Cambs [ Iter V...Duroliponte ] DURILITUM ??

Romford, Essex [ Iter IX ...Durolito ] From OE wlite “grace, comeliness, beauty’ DUROVERNUM Canterbury, Kent [ Iter II...Durolevo ] DUROVIGUTUM Godmanchester, Cambs EBURACUM York, N Yorks [ Iter I...Eburacum ] The traditional view, that this is a Latinisation of a British name, has found no easy derivation in British. Yet the OE for a boar, eofor occurs frequently in place-names, for example in Everly. The closest Latin could come to represent the word would be Ebor (since “v” had the modern sound of a “w”; see above under Abona). The name is completed with “acum” – as are other names in Gaul. Importantly, “a boar appears as the “canting badge” of the city on the Bordeaux inscription of AD 237”. (Rivet and Smith 1979, 357; see also EPNS, XIV, 275ff). The use of the boar as a symbol means that a Germanic derivation cannot be put down to popular etymology in the early medieval period.

It is strong evidence that a Germanic language was being spoken by the native population of Britain before the Romans arrived. EBURO CASTELLUM This name may also derive from eofor, a boar; and the latin castellum “fort”. EIDUMANIS Possibly a Latinisation of Witham, known in the medieval period as Widma or Withma (Ekwall 1960, 527). The ending suggests that there may have been an ending in OE ey “island”. The name might therefore have been “Withmaney” EPEACUM Whitley Castle, Northumb yppe from OE “a raised place, a lookout place” (Ekwall, 1960, 167) FANUMCOCIUM Bewcastle, Cumbria Possible from OE fearn ham ‘ham where ferns grow’ (as in Farnham: Ekwall 175) and OE cocc ‘hill’.

GABROSENTUM Moresby, Cumbria GALAVA Ambleside, Cumbria [ Iter X...Galava ] GARIANNUM Burgh Castle, Norfolk GLANNOVENTA Ravenglass, Cumbria GLEVUM Gloucester, Glos This may derive from OE gleow, a sporting place, or from OE glēaw “wise” (Ekwall, 1960, 199) GOBANNEUM Abergavenny, Gwent [ Iter XII...Gobannio ] A place-name derived from the ancestor of the Welsh language. Another case that shows that the letter'b' was used for 'v'. (See Abona and Eburacum) HABITANCUM Risingham, Northumb ISCA Caerleon, Gwent ISCA DUMNONIORUM Exeter, Devon ISURIUM BRIGANTUM Aldborough, N Yorks [ Iter I,II...Isurium, Iter V...Isubrigantum ] ISSANAVANTIA ??

[ Iter V...Issanavantia ] IVERNIUM (Ravenna 106) Rivet and Smith (1979, 381) is name as representing British Iyernio- “place on the Iyerno- ‘river’. However the name could alternatively be named from the OE “Iw” meaning “yew” (Ekwall, 1960, 268). There are a number of names similarly named after the yew tree, such as Ewhurst, Ewshott, Ifield, Iridge, Iwade, Iwode and Uley (Ekwall, 1960, 268). Apart from the Dorset Iwerne villages, there are no other cognates in Britain, named after the suggested British “river”.

It seems likely that Ivernium is the nearest that Latin could come to the sound of Iwerne LACTODURUM Towcester, Northants [ Iter II...Lactodoro ] While Rivet and Smith search for a derivation from Latin lacto, milk, for this town on the River Tove, this seems to be a latinisation OE lacu, “stream, water-course” and Tow, a variation of Tove which continued to give its name to the town as Towcester (Tow-chester). According to Ekwall, the river-name Tove is derived from an adj. *tōf “slow, dilatory” cognate with Mdu toeven, MLG toven “to linger”. Durum is, according to Rivet and Smith (1979, 346), an assumed British element denoting a fort (see Duro- names above). Alternatively it may be from OE duru “door” or even OE deor “deer. Dyrham, Gl would sound similar, and it is possible that Lactodurum was a “deer enclosure on the Tove stream”.

LAGENTIUM Castleford, W Yorks [ Iter V...Legeolio, Iter VIII...Lagecio ] LAVATRIS Bowes, Durham [ Iter II...Lavatris, Iter V...Levatri ] This may derive from OE hlaw “hill” LAUNA Learchild, Northumb This may derive from OE hlaw “hill” LEMANIS, Lympne, Kent [ Iter IV...Portum Lemanis ] Although attributed to a British derivation, this is probably from lind, often rendered lim, meaning lime tree. The last elements may be a Latinisation of ey “island”. The name adapted to Latin may have been “Limney”, an island with lime trees, but so too may be Lindsey. LETOCETUM Wall, Staffs [ Iter II...Etoceto ] LEUCARUM Loughor, W Glam [ Iter XII...Leucaro ] From OE hlæw “hill” LEUCOMAGUS East Anton, Hants Luca is an OE personal name found in places called Luckington in So, W, and YE (Ekwall 1960, 302, 306).

Magus may be a Latinisation of the OE adjective maga ‘powerful, strong’. LEVOBRINTA Forden Gear, Powys LINDINIS Ilchester, Somerset Derived from OE lind lime tree. Is there a hint of “ey” island here? – a latinisation of a name such as “Lindney”? LINDUM Lincoln, Lincs [ Iter V...Lindo ] Simply derived from OE lind “lime-tree” LONDINIUM London, Gtr London [ Iter II...Londinio ] Perhaps named after lang + dun "long hill" LONGOVECIUM Lanchester, Durham OE lang + wic – though this would condradict the view that Wic is a loan word from the Latin vicus.

Perhaps OE wice – wych elm, or OE wic, “dairy-farm (Ekwall 1960, 516) LUENTINUM Pumsaint, Dyfed LUGUVALIUM Carlisle, Cumbria [ Iter II...Luguvallo, Iter V...Luguvalio ] MAGIOVINIUM Dropshort, Bucks [Iter II...Magiovinto, Iter VIII...Magiovino ] MAGIS Burrow Walls, Cumbria MAGNIS Kenchester, Notts [ Iter XII...Magnis ] MAGNIS Carvoran, Northumb MAIA Bowness-on-Solway, Cumbria MAMUCIUM Manchester, Gtr Manchester [ Iter II...Mamucio, Ier X...Mancunio ] The derivation of this is attributed by Rivet and Smith (1979, 409-410) and Ekwall (1960, 312) to Irish and Scottish “Mamm” “breast”.

Ekwall states that the element Mam- is found in several hill-names, such as Mamhead D, Mam Tor Db, and Mansfield Nt, MANDUESSEDUM Mancetter, Warwicks [ Iter II...Manduesedo ] MARGIDUNUM Castle Hill, Notts [ Iter VI...Margiduno ] Probably from OE gemaere gaet dun ‘boundary road hill’ or mere gaet dun ‘mere road hill’. The latter seems more likely as there may have been a mere here. MEDIOBOGDUM Hardknott, Cumbria MEDIOLANUM Whitchurch, Shrops [ Iter II...Mediolano ] MORIDUNUM Carmarthen, Dyfed MORIDUNUM Seaton, Devon ??

NAVIO Brough, Derby NIDUM Neath, W Glam [ Iter XII....Nido ] NOVIOMAGVS REGNORUM Chichester, W Sussex NOVIOMAGVS Crayford, Gtr London [Iter II...Noviomago ] OLENACUM Elslack, N Yorks OTHONA Bradwell-on-Sea, Essex PENNOCRUCIUM Water Eaton, Staffs [Iter II..Pennocrucio ] A simple latinisation of Penkridge, OE pennuc “a small pen” or OE penn “a small enclosure, a fold” plus OE hrycg “ridge”. (Smith 1956, 61-62, 267). Crucium would have been pronounced with a ch sound, close to the dg of ridge.

PETVAREA Brough on Humber, Humbs [ Iter I...Prateorio ] PONS AELIUS Newcastle, Tyne& Wear PONTES Staines, Surrey [ Iter VII...Pontibus ] PORTUS ARDAONI Portchester, Hants PORTUS DUBRIS Dover, Kent [ Iter II...portum Dubris ] PORTUS LEMANIS Lympne, Kent RATAE Leicester, Leics [ Iter VI...Ratas ] REGNI, REGNENSES This name may derive from wrecca “outlaw” (Ekwall 1960, 538). This late pre-Roman territory seceded from the larger territory of the Atrebates REGODUNUM Castleshaw, Gtr Manchester RUTUPIAE Richborough, Kent [ Iter II...Ritupis ] SALINAE Droitwich, H'ford & Worcs SALINAE Middlewich, Cheshire SEGEDUNUM Wallsend, Tyne & Wear From OE secg ‘sedge’ and the common Latin suffix dunum based on the OE dun.

SEGELOCUM Littleborough, Notts [ Iter V...Segeloci ] There is a clear potential OE derivation in the words for ‘sedge, a reed, a rush’ secg (Smith, 1956b,117) and loc or loca, an enclosure or, as in Essex ‘a lock, a river-barrier’ (Smith 1956b, 25-6). A weir retaining a pool with sedge growing around it is highly possible for this area of the Trent.

SEGONTIUM Caernarfon, Gwynedd SORVIODUNUM Old Sarum, Wilts OE salh or salig ‘willow’ (Smith 1956b, 96) SULLONIACIS Brockley Hill, Gtr London [Iter II...Sulloniacis ] TRIMONTIUM Newstead, Borders Perhaps from OE treownes ‘object of trust’ and OE bannend ‘proclaimer’ TRIPONTIUM Cave's Inn, Warwicks [Iter VI...Tripontio ] UXACONA Redhill, Shrops [ Iter II...Uxacona ] UXELODUNUM Stanwix, Cumbria VAGNIACIS Springhead, Kent [ Iter I...Vagniacis ] wagen OE “quaking bog” was suggested by Ekwall (1928, ), though it may also derive from wægn “wagon” or from a reference to waves or the motion of the sea. VARIS St. Asaph, Clwyd [ Iter XI...Varis ] VEB… This element is found on the inscriptions on lead pigs from the Charterhouse lead mines of Somerset.

A large Roman villa was found at a meadow called Great Wemberham, Yatton in the early 20th century. I wonder if this might be the place referred to in the lead pig inscriptions by “VEB”. “Great” might even refer to a gravel area (see Ekwall for “great”). One part of the site was interpreted as a dock on the river. Rippon refers to the possible later sale of the Lead Mines at Charterhouse to private entrepreneurs. Could this villa be the home of one such entrepreneur, or was it the official residence of the government’s administrator (or both?)? VECTIS The Isle of Wight is conventionally seen as derived from the Latin Vectis but the latter might equally be derived from an OE word that Smith states only occurs in place-names but has some topographical application such as ‘a curving recess, a bend in a river or valley’ (Smith 1956, 265). It may refer to a fork in a river. It is interesting that this island does not contain the eg element, suggesting that the use of this element predates the separation of the Isle of Wight from the mainland.

Roman Place-Names Since it has always been assumed that speakers of 'Celtic' languages lived in much of Britain before the Roman conquest in 43AD, Roman place-names have been scrutinised for traces of anything that resembles early forms of Welsh or Cornish. However, elements of English can be discerned in the same names just as easily - perhaps more so. Untangling the remnants of an older language in place-names is not reliable. It is even possible to find in Roman place-names resemblances with the names of dishes in a curry-house! Nevertheless, there is some remarkable support among the evidence from Roman place-names for origins in a form of English. 2007 The great debate on the origins of Britain's early languages has started. Find out the latest news and how you can learn more by following this link.

Question: Which English town was known as Segedunum to the Romans
Answer: Wallsend